Jerusalem-The Simon Wiesenthal Center today urged the Ukrainian government to take legal action against marchers yelling the notorious anti-Semitic slogan Juden raus(Jews out, in German), in an event held Sunday to mark the birthday
of Ukrainiannationalist leader Stefan Bandera, whose followers participated in the mass murder of Jews during the initial stages of the Holocaust.
In a letter sent this morning to Ukrainian ambassador to Israel Hennadii Nadolenko by the Center's Director for Eastern European Affairs, Holocaust historian Dr. Efraim Zuroff, the Center urgedlegal action against those demonstrators calling for the Jews' expulsion and noted the participation of Bandera's followers in Holocaust crimes.
According to Zuroff's letter to Nadolenko:
"On New Year's Day, in the center of Kiev, thousands marched to mark the birthday of Ukrainian nationalist leader Stefan Bandera, whose followers actively participated in the mass murder of Jewsduring the initial months following the Nazi invasion of Ukraine.
Even worse, according to media reports, some of the marchers shouted the notorious anti-Semitic slogan Juden raus (Jews out!) in German, which clearly constitutes incitement to anti-Semiticviolence.
I urge you to convey our sense of pain and outrage to the Ukrainian government and encourage them to take immediate legal action against those responsible for this anti-Semitic behavior."
For additional information please contact the Israel Office of the Wiesenthal Center: 972-2-563-1274 or 972-50-721-4156, join the Center on Facebook, www.facebook.com/simonwiesenthalcenter, or follow @simonwiesenthal for news updates sent direct to your Twitter feed.
The Simon Wiesenthal Center is one of the largest international Jewish human rights organizations with over 400,000 member families in the United States. It is an NGO at international agenciesincluding the United Nations, UNESCO, the OSCE, the OAS, the Council of Europe and the Latin American Parliament (Parlatino).
Follow Dr. Zuroff on Twitter: @EZuroff